Supporting COME school students for a brighter future

In the extremely remote community of Lailenpi, high in Myanmar's mountains in Chin State near the Indian border, a local organisation runs the ‘Centre for Maraland Education’ (COME): a boarding school for both bright and disadvantaged children from throughout the region where the Mara people group live. The school aims to raise the quality of education in the region, giving children the chance to complete high school and get a university education, which would be nearly impossible for most of these children without the support of COME. For the organisation which runs the school, the Service and Development Department of the Mara Evangelical Church, COME represents their long-term strategy for development in their region. The school is a way for them to raise up future leaders and improve the human resources available to address the difficulties their communities faces: poverty, food shortages, lack of healthcare and a low standard of education.
 
As a result of recent food shortages, many students have dropped out of school and many are urged to drop out by their parents. Nevertheless many children have insisted on continuing their studies at COME. COME has been struggling to keep operating in-spite of lack of funds and food for the students. Parents cannot afford to pay the nominal fees for the school, and local farmers have no excess to share. If any external food assistance comes to the area from NGOs or government, these students are often left out, because they are not at home with their families in the villages.